MANSFIELD, Conn. – For the seventh time in as many matchups, Eastern Connecticut State University Men's Soccer took down in-state rival Mitchell College, opening the 2026 season on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field with a 5-1 victory.
As it stands, in the seven total head-to-heads, the Warriors have now outscored the Mariners by a 26-3 margin, having allowed one goal during the 2019 and 2025 matchups heading into the day, which were both 5-1 wins on the road. Tuesday's matchup was only the third time in which Mitchell has visited Eastern at home.
It took just 14 seconds for the Warriors to get on the board and never look back as sophomore forward
Ben Syphrett beat senior goalkeeper Jesse Jenkins, who got the start between the posts for Mitchell in the opener. Jenkins lasted just 26:11, making two saves, while allowing two goals, the second to first-year forward
Cameron Zingle, before sophomore goalkeeper Dylan Johns replaced him for the remainder of the match.
In all, Eastern pocketed four goals in the first half against the pair of Mariner goalkeepers, riding a 4-0 lead into the second half as sophomore defender
John Bennett recorded two assists, while sophomore midfielder
Christian Moura and senior defender
Noah Page each recorded the other two first-half strikes. Junior goalkeeper
Jack Harmon played the first half in goal for the home team, only needing to make one stop, before first-year goalkeeper
Marek Nardi made his collegiate debut in the second half.
During Nardi's 45 minutes of action, he faced no direct shots on goal, as the lone goal for the Mariners came following a foul committed by Nardi in the box in the 78th minute. Junior midfielder Jose Pacheco would deliver the goal to the top right side of the goal on Nardi, avoiding what would have been the fifth shutout for Mitchell in the all-time series against the Warriors. Senior forward
Patricio Vidales would get that goal back for Eastern in the closing moments of the game following a corner kick from first-year defender
Evan Wahl, slamming the door on the dominant 5-1 win.
Across the board, the Warriors led in every major category, outshooting the Mariners 18-5 overall and 10-2 in shots on goal, while having 10 corners to Mitchell's one. Over the final 63:49 that Johns played, he would make three saves for the visitors while allowing three goals.
Eastern closes out its homestand to start the 2026 season at Rick McCarthy Field on Thursday afternoon as it takes on Emerson College at 4:00 PM. This will be the first time the Lions visit Mansfield, Connecticut, as the only prior matchup ended in a 1-0 loss for the Warriors back in 2025.
